Ramises, the Prince of the Nile
by Vanilla1
Summary: The plagues through a child's eyes


Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the following story. If you want the real story, please turn your attention to Exodus 7-14 in the Bible. Now on to the story.  
  
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The water lapped enticingly at the edge of the steps. Ramises glanced about to make sure no one was around, and then walked through the elegant marble passageway down to the pool. He came every day to this pool: he loved the sounds it made and the way the birds chased each other around the lilies that had been brought in from the Nile. The birds were given to the Pharaoh and his family by the neighboring country of Morocco as a peace offering. They had long bills and gray backs set on their ruby feathers, and they would only occasionally put up with Ramises' curiosity. He had found one of their eggs once, and brought it to his room to raise it, but his dog Ahom (eagle) had discovered the tiny chick and snapped it up faster than a hippo could surface. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here without an attendant. Father would be awfully angry if he found that the young Prince of Egypt had sneaked away from his servants and went down to the enclosed pool. Well, nearly enclosed: the pool was at the end of a long marble archway, and was surrounded by marble walls on three sides. The pool itself was long, too, and the fourth side opened into the River Nile itself. Ramises carefully placed his boat into the water, and gave it a gentle push towards one of the birds. With an antagonized squawk the bird took flight, to land several feet later and paddle quietly away. The boat wobbled and fell over. Ramises hurried towards it, only to create more waves that pushed it through the billowing curtains and out onto the river. Ramises waded over to the entrance and peeked out. The boat was stuck in a bunch of reeds. He slowly walked over to it, checking over his shoulder for his father or mother or someone who could banish him to his room. No one. He peered around the corner of the marble works and reached for the boat at the same time a tanned hand grabbed it. "Hey! That's my boat!" Ramises cried indignantly as the boat disappeared. The hand slowly extended through the reeds again, shoving the boat back at him. Ramises, astonished, stood in the waist deep water. "Come out," Ramises called. The hand retreated quickly. "I command you to obey your prince! Come out!" "Well, aren't we bossy," came the voice from the reeds. And a head emerged with the voice: a Hebrew child's head. "My name is Joseph." Slightly taken aback at the idea of a Hebrew calling him bossy and then offering friendship, Ramises stuttered, "I- I am R- Ramises." He offered his hand for shake. Joseph reached for his hand, but at that moment a yell pierced the air. "Ramises! Get out of that water this instant! The idea, the pertinence, the nerve of that child! Do you know how long I have been looking for you? Get over here now!" Ramises sighed and looked back at Joseph. But he was gone, leaving only rustling reeds.  
  
Later that night Ramises stood next to his father, the Pharaoh, the morning and the evening star, the head of all of Egypt. It was the day the great city was made, and it was custom for all the beautiful Egyptian girls to dance for the Pharaoh. At the moment, they were dancing the dance that announced the arrival of the feast. Pharaoh stood to leave, his hand on Ramises' head, when the guards came with news of two visitors. "Alright, send them in, but make it quick. The Pharaoh is hungry." His father waved the guards to his commands. Ramises sat and began another game of one person mancala. The stones clacked together nicely when he dropped them in their alabaster holders. He was enjoying himself so much, in fact, that he didn't notice his father standing to greet the visitors, and the conversation that passed shortly between them. But he snapped his head up when he heard a loud noise. He realized, as he looked around, that all the people were deadly quiet, and all attention was focused on one man in the middle of the room. He had thrown his staff on the ground, and it was twitching violently. Suddenly, the staff rolled over, then it rolled over again as a cobra. Ramises gasped and looked at his father. The Pharaoh seemed unimpressed, so Ramises assumed a bored expression and stared off in the distance, hoping he looked like he had seen this happen every day. "Priests! Show this man how to really do magic!" Pharaoh clapped his hands together. Two priests hurried out into the middle of the floor and held their two staffs out in front of them. After muttering a few words to themselves, they threw them both into the air. The sticks hit the ground as two bigger cobras, hissing and lunging at the man's cobra. The man's snake promptly swallowed them both, and turned back to a staff as the man picked it up. "My God commands you to let His people go!" the man shouted, pointing the staff at the Pharaoh. Ramises gulped and closed his eyes, hoping his father wouldn't blow up at this poor stupid man like he had this morning at Ramises. But he merely shook his head and commanded the guards to take him away. "You bring this upon yourself, Pharaoh! Prepare for God's wonders!"  
  
If you liked this one, I hope you'll keep reading and review down in the corner. Thanks!! 


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